Tag Archives: Sports

Him – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating film full of a brooding presence that builds throughout, leading to an ending that feels less satisfying the more I ponder on it.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Warning – Contains sequences that include flashing lights.

Jets blasts over a goal post.

Setting the Scene

If there was ever a time to get me interested in a sports horror film, it is this week, as we are currently sitting in between the AFL and the NRL grand finales, and my teams are in both. It gives you a little buzz around the sporting world and prepares you to dive into some of the more questionable sides of the industry.

So, to set the scene, Cam’s (Tyriq Withers) whole life has revolved around football, conspicuously not the NFL, but I digress. All his life has been focused on making it to the top, and just when he is about to make his debut, someone cracks him in the back of the head. The doctor is sure that if he gets another crack on the head, it could stop him playing for good. But when Cam’s manager, Tom (Tim Heidecker), calls with an offer to train with his idol, Isaiah (Marlon Wayans), the current quarterback of the San Antonio Saviors, it is an opportunity he can’t turn down, even when all the red flags start popping up.   

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F1 (F1: The Movie) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The Daddist Dad Film that ever Dadded

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Looking at an F1 Race from the cockpit of an F1 car.

F1 Review –

In the pantheon of cinema, some films are Dad films. Now, that does not mean only men will enjoy them, only that the movie in question is very Dad-coded. If you have ever sat down to watch a film and thought: ‘My dad would like this’ well reader and a fine, elegant, and clearly one of good taste reader at that, have just watched a ‘Dad film’. Today, we look at a film that might be the most ‘Dad Film’ I have ever seen ‘Dad Film’, and it was excellent to boot.  

So, to set the scene, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was an up-and-coming F1 racer in his youth before a brutal crash took ten years of his life. Since then, he has been chasing different racing challenges, almost like he is knocking off a list of the world’s best races. Indeed, we meet Sonny in the middle of The 24 Hours of Daytona, and he crushes it. But as he makes his way across America to the next race, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), a former friend from his F1 days and current F1 APXGP team owner, pops in for a visit. For you see, Ruben has a problem: his team has never won a race, their second driver has just quit, and they are sitting on 0 points for the season. If they fail to win a race, shareholders like Peter Banning (Tobias Menzies) could force a sale. All Ruben needs Sonny to do is become the second driver for the rest of the season and help give his experience to their very talented yet very young other driver, Joshua “Noah” Pearce (Damson Idris). Sonny left that world behind thirty years ago, but the allure of one last crack at it can’t help but call him back.

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Runt – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a delightfully fun film that gets a bit preachy at times and a little unhinged in places.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit stinger.

Runt – I paid to watch this film

A dog running through an agility course.

Runt Review –

There are a lot of things that can make a film Australian: its setting, its production, and the governmental jump ropes it needs to skip through to get funding. There are some films that, even if you removed the drone shots, pans over wheat fields, and set it in a small rural town, you would still know it was Australian, just because of the vibes. Today, we look at a film that is just that, Australian to its very core.

So, to set the scene, the Shearer family lives in the small Western Australian town of Upson Downs. One day, the daughter Annie (Lily LaTorre) found a stray mutt called Runt (Squid). She brought him home, and he soon became an integral part of the family. However, the town has been in drought for 375 days, and local rich snob Earl Robert-Barren (Jack Thompson) took all the local river water for his dam. Life is tight for the Shearers, with Bryan (Jai Courtney) and Susie (Celeste Barber) struggling to pay the overdraft on their overdraft, and her brother Max’s (Jack LaTorre) stunt video channel has not really taken off. However, one day, when Annie sees the canine agility course at the local fair with a cash prize, she sees a way to help her family. The only problem is that Runt does not like to perform when anyone but Annie is watching.

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The King of the Indies (Il Re delle Indie) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating look into an equally fascinating sport that brings a city together while pitting it against itself.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

The town of Arezzo.

The King of the Indies Review –

Today, I felt like I needed a change, which is when an email appeared in my inbox. Maybe it is that the Olympics are on at the time of writing, maybe it’s because I have not watched a good documentary in a while, and perhaps the idea of learning about an obscure yet fascinating sport was what I needed to do today. Whatever the reason, I am glad that I sat down and explored the world of jousting in Italy.

So, to set the scene, we fly to Italy, take a drive to Tuscany, and end up in the ancient city of Arezzo. It is here where a medieval tradition still lasts well into the modern age. Each year, four-quarters of the town are pitted together in competition. The goal is to get a centre hit on the ‘King of the Indies’. It is an event that both unites and divides the city. It is filled with spectacle, pressure, and danger. All of it to win the Golden Lance. But what happens when your quarter has not won for 12 years is what we explore today.   

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Challengers – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Wild, sensual, and captivating. While not all of it works, when it is on fire, it is electric.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) watches the tennis match behind sunglasses.

Challengers Review –

Some films can captivate you just by hearing the name of a director and an idea. Luca Guadagnino’s previous works, like Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, were not perfect, but they were immensely captivating, sucking you into their worlds. Well, I was interested in seeing where he would go from there when exploring the world of tennis.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the 2019 New Rochelle Champions Tournament as Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) are facing it out in the finals. A dual for the ages. However, both sets of eyes are not focusing on each other but on someone in the audience, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). There is a palpable tension the court that can only exist between people with a deep history, which is when we cut back thirteen years.     

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Miss Shampoo (Qing wen hai you na li xu yao jia qiang/請問，還有哪裡需要加強) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a genuinely odd film, sometimes weird, sometimes wondering, often fascinating, but it also has moments where you wonder what it is that you are watching.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes and a slightly mean audio commentary at the end of the credits.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

A pair of scissors in someone's hands.

Miss Shampoo Review –

Tonight, as I was sitting here cursing the heat and the humidity, I thought I would take my mind off it by watching something different. It was at that moment that I realised that it had been a while since we dived into Taiwanese Cinema, and a new romantic comedy just dropped on Netflix.

So to set the scene, it is a rainy night as Fen (Vivian Sung) is practicing her haircutting technique in the salon. When Tai (Daniel Hong) crashes into the salon badly wounded. Thai mercenaries are chasing him, but some quick thinking from Fen saves his life. All the bosses in town are trying to work out who killed Tai’s Boss. But the last thing that Fen was expecting was to see Tai walk back into her salon to ask for a cut when she is only able to wash hair. Nor was she expecting the world she was about to enter.

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The Boys in the Boat – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A perfectly okay film that refuses to integrate any of the themes it proports to be exploring.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The boys lined up with their oars.

The Boys in the Boat Review –

Today, we look at an interesting biographical film because, at its core, it is more interesting for what it does not do than what it is that we see in the final product. This creates a film that, by all metrics, is perfectly okay from a technical perspective, but the moment you integrate any of the narrative, you find it to have the solidity of balsa wood.  

So to set the scene, it is 1936 in Washington state, at the height of the Great Depression. Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) has spent most of his life sleeping rough but still managed to get into the University of Washington. But when financing becomes tight, he decides to take up an opportunity with the University rowing team because it comes with a room and a small financial compensation. The Washington University rowing team has not won a race in a long time, and coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) is starting to feel the pressure from above to place or get replaced. But could this new batch of rowers be the best crew he ever taught? And in an Olympic year, no less?

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Next Goal Wins – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fun time that gets held back by some wooden acting and forced storytelling.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Team v the Coach.

Next Goal Wins Review –

I have been enjoying my time at the Brisbane International Film Festival, but as always, things must come to an end. But if you are going to pick a film to end it on, Taika Waititi’s romp about the American Samoa Football Team is an excellent place to do it. This is a sports story that is so infamous that even I have heard about it. With that in mind, let’s play some soccer and see how a team can come back from abject embarrassment.

So to set the scene, American Samoa has been at the bottom of FIFA’s rankings for an age and reached an even lower level in 2001 World Cup qualifiers when, during a game with Australia, they lost 31-0. Tavita (Oscar Kightley) tries to manage the club, but he has become a laughingstock in the soccer community. After some pushing from his wife, Ruth (Rachel House), he applies to the American Soccer Federation for a new coach. Well, this might be a Hail Mary, but at that moment, they have a coach who is about to get fired, and Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) has only one option: take a plane into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

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Uproar – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An emotional punch to the face as it explores the power of finding your identity.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

A sign that says "Justice for Black South Africa, Justice for Brown New Zealand would be nice to!"

Uproar Review –

At the time of writing, we are in the middle of the Brisbane International Film Festival or, more affectionately, BIFF. So many films were on offer that you needed to sort through all the entries before being paralysed by indecision. For me this year, I decided to prioritise Aussie and Kiwi films, and with that in mind, you will see a couple of these entries over the coming days. Our first entry from BIFF explores the need to find your identity and how that shapes us as people.

So to set the scene, it is 1981, and the South African Rugby Team, the Springbok, are currently touring New Zealand. Given an intentionally racist Apartheid political system that still runs South Africa, this tour is quite controversial, and there are protests everywhere the team plays. It is within this world that Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison) is trying to find his voice. He is surviving High School by hiding in the library each lunchtime, but he is not thriving at any level. Much of his out-of-school time is spent on odd jobs helping his mother Shirley (Minnie Driver) and the family survive and assisting his brother Jamie (James Rolleston) in his physical therapy recovery from an accident. But as these protests cause a reckoning in the country, they also force Josh to reflect on his own identity.  

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Gran Turismo (Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It takes what could have been a boilerplate story and brings it into overdrive with the roar of an engine that rumbles through the cinema.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid to see this film

Jann in his racing helmet.

Gran Turismo Review –

There have been a lot of adaptations of video games from Sony at the cinema recently, some good, some bad, and occasionally they can be fantastic. But what we are looking at today is a little bit different. Sure, it is based on and named after a video game, Gran Turismo. However, its full release title here in Australia, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, should give you a hint that something else is going on here. Something quite interesting.

So to set the scene, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) is a marketing manager from Nissan’s England division, and he has found a problem. Young people don’t care about cars anymore. They are the generation of Uber and such. He flies to Tokyo to Nissan head office to suggest a contest to fix that issue. Because game designer Kazunori Yamauchi (Takehiro Hira) from Polyphony Digital has recreated car racing down to the minutest details in his game/simulation Gran Turismo, if they create a competition where the best drivers in the sim get a chance to be a ready race car driver, they could ignite the passions of an entire player base in driving again. Well, one of those players is Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a kid from Cardiff, who is trying to forward his passion in life when everyone else just sees it as a game, and well he is here to prove them all wrong.

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